Food poisoning on the rise in the Fraser Coast

Pam has been at the Daily Mercury since March 2013 and has also worked as a journalist in Batemans Bay and Wellington both in NSW. And yes, that does make her a Blues supporter. Growing up she moved around different places including Sydney, Moree, Wollongong and lived for about two years as a high school student on a small island in Micronesia called Pohnpei. Pam loves water sports, including SCUBA diving, snorkelling and kayaking but her awful balance means she’ll never touch a surf board. Ever...

FOOD poisoning is on the rise with an increase in food poisoning cases in the Fraser Coast and Bundaberg region in the past year.

Queensland Health has issued a warning to residents after alarming statistics have revealed only 1% of people know eggs should never be washed before cooking and only 21% of people know washing uncooked chicken is a health risk.

Health figures showed about 269 people have presented with food poisoning within the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service so far this year.

This was 112 more cases than the previous year, when 157 cases were recorded in the same period.

These figures were based on the number of cases of campylobacter - the most common cause of food poisoning in Australia.

Queensland health protection executive director Sophie Dwyer said the research showed 75% of people thought they understood safe food practices.

But she said people overestimated their knowledge of basic food hygiene and were suffering because of it.

"They're telling us that it's common sense - but when questioned, only 1% of the 1563 people surveyed knew that eggs should never be washed before cooking," Ms Dwyer said.

"That's because washing them makes it easier for any bacteria to get inside the egg from the shell."

She also said one in five people admitted to washing chicken before cooking it.